UNEP FI Backs Living Amazon Mechanism to Channel Private Capital into Biodiversity, Bioeconomy Solutions

June 12, 2025

5:51 pm

Key Impact Points:

Innovative financing model: The Living Amazon Mechanism blends concessional credit and technical assistance to support small rural producers in the Amazon.
Blueprint for global scaling: UNEP FI presents LAM as a replicable model for other biodiversity-rich regions like the Congo Basin and Southeast Asia.
COP30 momentum: The initiative directly supports Target 19 of the Global Biodiversity Framework by unlocking private capital for nature-positive development.

Connecting Capital Markets with Conservation

As the world prepares for COP30—the “COP of Solutions”—one urgent challenge remains: how to finance global goals for nature and biodiversity. Meeting the Rio Conventions’ targets will require more than public funding; it will demand bold private sector investment and partnerships.

The UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is leading efforts to align capital flows with sustainability, especially in support of Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This target emphasizes mobilizing resources from all sources, calling for innovative finance mechanisms that bridge government strategy and private investment.

Introducing the Living Amazon Mechanism

One such mechanism is the Living Amazon Mechanism (LAM)—a model featured in the latest guidebook by Revenues for Nature (R4N), a global project by the Green Finance Institute Hive in collaboration with UNDP BIOFIN and UNEP FI.

LAM blends below-market credit with grant-funded technical assistance to help rural producers develop nature-positive businesses in the Amazon. “By mobilizing investment directly into the Amazon biome,” the guidebook notes, “LAM is paving the way for impactful solutions ahead of COP30—and demonstrating how finance can drive real change for nature globally.”

Overcoming Barriers in the Bioeconomy

Investing in the Amazon bioeconomy comes with unique challenges—small deal sizes, unclear land tenure, long return periods, and low collateral. Living Amazon Mechanism (LAM) addresses these by combining financing with capacity-building, helping local cooperatives unlock the region’s economic potential while preserving ecosystems.

The 2023–2024 LAM pilot supported over a dozen cooperatives across Pará, Amazonas, Amapá, and Rondônia, producing goods such as açaí, palm heart, and cocoa.

A Global Blueprint for Nature-Positive Finance

UNEP FI encourages its members to adapt LAM for other biodiversity hotspots. By blending credit and technical support, and engaging governments and philanthropic partners, LAM provides a “replicable blueprint for directing private finance toward nature-positive outcomes in other regions.”

The model supports implementation of UNEP FI’s Principles for Responsible Banking and aligns directly with client engagement strategies to integrate nature and community impact into mainstream financial services.

Ahead of COP30

With global attention turning to Brazil for COP30, LAM offers a timely, proven example of how capital markets can empower Indigenous Peoples and local communities while supporting sustainable development.

By advancing financial structures like Living Amazon Mechanism (LAM), institutions can help turn the goals of COP30 into real, on-the-ground solutions.